Black Cat
by 741N73D 4N63L
Summary: JJ's little sister Catherine accompanies the team on a case. Edited 06/12.
1. Day 1

AN: This story was written for my creative writing class. Please read and review. Thank you :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

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><p>The White Rabbit put on his spectacles. "Where shall I begin, please your Majesty?" he asked.<p>

"Begin at the beginning," the King said gravely, "and go on till you come to the end: then stop."

- _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_, Chapter 12

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><p>Day 1:<p>

I followed my sister out of the elevator and into the bullpen, smoothing down my long blonde hair and nervously tugging at my white blouse, tucked into my grey pencil skirt. Jen is twelve years older than me; we look like twins, except for the height difference. I have always looked up to her. The reason I was going to work with Jen was because she had received special permission for me to accompany her team on their next case, as part of my masters' thesis on Linguistics. I did a double major in literature and languages. I was nervous not because I had never met the team before, but because this was the first time I had ever been allowed to, or even been considered for help on a case. It was actually Spencer who had suggested I help out and get extra credit in my classes for it. He knew how much I have always wanted to help out on a case. As much as I love baby-sitting my nephew Henry, when the team is away and Will is at work, what twenty-year-old wants to spend all her free time watching a baby?

I smiled at Spencer, who was sitting at his desk with his head buried in a book. Looking at him, it was easy to remember how terribly shy he was when we first met. I was visiting Jen, it was two weeks before my fourteenth birthday and I was researching the Jabberwocky poem from Lewis Carroll's _Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There_ for my grade eleven final English exam. I was home-schooled year round until I started high school, so I was quite a bit further ahead than my peers. I also took my exams early in whatever classes I could. I wanted to go to university really badly. Jen managed to convince Spencer to stay while she went out grocery shopping. Even though I did not need a baby sitter, I didn't mind Spencer staying because I thought he was kind of cute in that awkward kind of way. He was so nervous around me; he had no idea what to do or say. So I ignored him for a bit and he calmed down enough to sit on the couch - still in the same room, but as far away as possible from where I was curled up on the window seat. I decided to see how much I could freak him out, so I sat down next to him on the couch and swung my legs up onto his lap. He was shocked and started sputtering, he insisted on knowing what I thought I was doing. I calmly explained that I just wanted to stretch out my legs and that he was kind of in the way, but he could move if he wanted too. Inside I was laughing really hard. Spencer didn't move and by the time Jen got back, we were talking about the Jabberwocky poem; Spencer could recite the entire poem. It was the beginning of a great friendship.

Jason Gideon was so driven to find serial killers and save the victims that he never had time for anything else. His hyper-vigilance reminds me a little bit of the way I react to people. Only I don't think that he was scared of everyone. Spencer was working with Gideon when I first met him in June of 2004. My sister, Jen, met Spencer at the shooting range soon after she joined the FBI's BAU a few months before. Spencer was horrible at shooting; he barely passed his sharpshooter qualifications. Jen ended up helping Spencer practice, and they started spending time together outside of work.

Spencer came by to 'babysit' me many times in the following years, when the team wasn't out on a case. When our parents died, four months before I turned fifteen, Spencer would come over and listen to me rant about how it wasn't fair, and that I hated the stupid truck driver who hit our car. When I would break down crying, he would hold me and tell me that everything was going to be okay because I still had Jen. I think I spent more time with Spencer than anyone, even Jen, after our parents died. I was inconsolable; I even gave up hockey, which I loved more than anything. The only thing that made sense in my mixed up life was school. I threw myself into my studies with even more ferocity than usual. I ended up graduating high school in December 2005 and University in April 2009. The team helped Jen and I move everything out of our parents' home in Pennsylvania. I had to move near Quantico, so that I could live with Jen because that was what our parents would have wanted. After the accident, Jen would let me sleep in her bed when I couldn't sleep in mine. Even now, almost six years later, when Will is away Jen and I lie in bed with Henry and share stories about our parents. Spencer is still the same: he wears the same clothes, talks the same way and he still listens to me rant, only now, it's mostly about school. He still hugs me when I've had a bad day; he is the older brother I wish I had had growing up, with my parents.

I was so excited to see him sitting there I almost forgot my nerves. I probably would have run across the room and dropped myself into his lap to get his attention, if Jen hadn't grabbed my hand. Jen was nervous too; she had tried to shield me from death after our parents died, and right then she couldn't because I was going to help her team, my extended family. Spencer finally looked up, after what seemed like forever, and gave me one of his patented Spencer Reid smiles. He rose from his desk and walked slowly over to us. Spencer's actions caught Emily's attention while she was talking with Derek.

The first time I met Emily was when she joined the team after Elle left. Elle and I didn't really know each other very well. Elle used to come over to the house with the team for dinner sometimes, but that was really the only interaction we had. She wasn't really interested in hanging out with a teenager. I didn't meet Elle until after the accident and by then, the only people I would speak to were Jen, Spencer and occasionally Penelope. Emily and I usually have long conversations in French or German. The topics never really matter but she has promised to start teaching me Russian, as soon as summer vacation starts.

Derek noticed that Emily's attention was no longer on their conversation and he turned around to see what was so distracting.

"Salut Emily, hello Derek, hi Spence," I said with a small smile.

I received a smile and a "Salut Catherine" from Emily, and a "Hello" and grin from Derek.

Spencer approached me slowly and gave me a gentle hug, lifting me off the ground because of how much taller than me he is. Sometimes being five foot one really sucks, but not when you get awesome hugs.

I always think of Derek as cross between a big teddy bear and a knight; he used to give me piggyback rides and take me to amusement parks. I know he can be dangerous, but so is everyone on the team, and I know that he would never hurt me. One time when I was visiting Jen at the office, there was a shooter in the building; I was hiding under Spencer's desk, I was so scared. Derek was the one to find me. He made sure that I got to Penelope's office. Penelope and I barricaded the door and waited for Derek to come back. He came back after the guy had been caught, and brought me to Jen.

Penelope came into the bullpen just as everyone was crowding around Jen and me. She practically squealed with happiness and threw her arms around me. I flinched a bit and then returned the hug, with almost as much enthusiasm.

Penelope is Henry's godmother and has taught me everything important I know about computers. She comes over for Friday dinners when the team is in town; we also watch movies, just the four girls. During those first few months, after the death of our parents, Penelope spent a lot of time talking with Jen and myself about losing her own parents.

Penelope said that Aaron and Dave were waiting for us in the conference room. The six of us walked up the stairs and down the hall. Jen squeezed my hand once, right before we went into the room and whispered, "Good luck; I love you Kitty Cat." She released my hand and walked in ahead of me before I could respond in kind.

"Good evening Catherine," said Aaron Hotchner and David Rossi at the same time.

"Hi Aaron, hi Dave," I answered back quietly.

Erin Strauss was there; she gave me an appraising look and said, "Good evening Miss Jareau."

"Good evening Madam Strauss," I answered back politely.

I knew that she didn't really want me there, but from what I understood at the time, she had given in because everyone else was okay with me helping and because the team might have needed my linguistic skills.

Penelope presented the case. It turned out that we were going to be investigating a series of disappearances, as far as they could tell, the little boys and girls had gone missing. There were no bodies, so for now, it was just a series of disappearances and not a murder investigation. I gave a silent prayer that the children were still alive. We learned that all six of the children had gone missing from the Canadian side of the New York and Quebec border all in the past six months. The most recent child to go missing was the daughter of a visiting German Diplomat.

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><p>AN2: Edited 5th of June 2012<p> 


	2. Day 1 continued

AN: Please read and review :) Anything in another language will have a translation at the end of the text.

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

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><p>Day 1.5:<p>

As we settled in the jet, after discussing the case a little bit more, Penelope sat down with Jen and Emily. Derek had his headphones on and his eyes closed, while Dave and Aaron were playing chess. Spencer came over to sit with me on the couch; I had my face glued to the window watching the sunrise.

"Are you okay? You have hardly said anything at all today," he asked me with a concerned look.

"Yes. It's just a little strange being here with all of you. It feels like a dream," I answered back with a small smile. I sobered and asked, "Spencer, what are the chances of finding these kids alive?" He opened his mouth and I cut him off with a teasing smile, "Please don't give me a long answer."

He returned my smile, at the teasing, but turned somber and said, "There are a lot of different factors that we won't know of until we land, but it doesn't look good, Kitty Cat."

I frowned, "That is what I was afraid of. I hope they're still alive Spencer."

"Me too Kitty Cat, me too." He sat down next to me, on the couch, and I curled up against him and fell asleep.

I woke up a little while later but didn't move. I could tell that Spencer was asleep and I know that sometimes people talk more freely when they think you don't understand or can't hear them. I could hear my sister, Emily and Penelope talking.

Emily said, "Are you sure that she is ready for something like this? I-"

Penelope cut her off, "It's been what, fourteen years?"

"Thirteen and a half," Jen corrected.

Derek took off his headphones, "Is that why Strauss didn't want her to come on this one?"

Jen jumped back in, "I didn't want her to come on this one either."

Penelope cut my sister off, "Yeah, but that is different, JJ, you want to protect her."

Aaron said, "Missing kids are always a tough case-"

Dave cut him off, "It would be even tougher if you were a missing kid once upon a time."

I could feel their eyes on me. I half wished it was Jen I was curled up with; maybe then they wouldn't be talking about me. I never want to think about what happened.

Emily sighed, "Well, I suppose that she seems okay curled up next to Reid over there."

"Spence is still her security blanket for long car rides," I could hear Jen grinning. They burst out laughing at that.

"Shh!" That was Penelope. No one can shush quite like her. "You'll wake them up before I get my picture."

I wanted to move when I heard that, but Spencer makes a great pillow and it is true; I won't go on long car rides unless Spencer is there with me. After the accident, it took months before I could get into a car without a panic attack. My daddy was driving and my mama was sitting up front. I was sitting in the back with my hockey helmet still on. I hated that helmet. My mama had picked it out, and it was pink with sparkles. It was nine o'clock at night, pitch black; we had only just left the arena. The truck hit us as my daddy turned to get on the highway. The car made a horrific crunching sound when the truck hit. The car rolled over into a ditch. My mama was screaming and my daddy didn't make a sound. The doctor's said that he died on impact while my mama died in the hospital a few hours later, because of internal bleeding. When I woke up, my doctor told me that my horrible pink helmet probably saved my life.

Unfortunately that is not why Emily asked if I was ready. The night I turned 7, my best friend Beth and I were kidnapped from my bedroom. I was gone for almost six months and Beth never came home. Spencer thought I was ready. Strauss agreed to let me come because she though that I might be able to help find the kids. This new unsub was behaving the same way my abductor did. If we did find the kids, I would be able to talk to them, to relate. If we didn't find them, Strauss seemed to think I might be able to help the families. Jen was just worried, like any big sister would be. I sure thought that I was ready.

After the click of the camera, everyone was quiet. I could hear them moving around in the plane. Someone's watch alarm went off and it startled Spencer awake. He stretched a bit, ran his fingers through my hair and whispered, "I know you're awake Kitty Cat; you can't fool me."

I turned my face towards him and whispered back with a pout, "They were talking about me again."

He smiled at me, "Of course they were; you're family." Spencer gave me an unreadable look, "Do you want JJ to come sit with you?"

I shrugged and held onto a handful of Spencer's blue and grey sweater vest, "I don't care."

He smiled at me, "Of course you care." Then he called out to my sister, "JJ! It's your turn to be the pillow now."

I could hear everyone chuckling. Jen came to sit down with us. I wondered if the mood was usually so light; I can't imagine that it would be. For a few short hours it felt almost like a family vacation. Jen carded her fingers through my hair and for just a moment, with my eyes closed, curled between the two of them, it felt like I had my parents back. Jen ruined the moment by talking. "I'm sorry about that Kitty Cat, we're just worried. We do want you around-"

I cut her off, "Don't be worried Jen, I'll be fine."

She smiled down at me, "Go back to sleep, we still have another hour before we arrive in Montreal and then we have to meet the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and set up at the police station in Pierrefonds-Roxboro."

"How long will the car ride take?" I asked quietly.

"About thirty minutes, so not too long." Jen stuck her tongue out at me.

"Says you." I stuck my tongue out at my sister.

Spencer laughed quietly and said, "Go back to sleep; we'll wake you up before we land."

I conceded defeat and as I started to drift off, I could feel Jen's fingers carding through my hair. My last conscious action, and thought, was to secure my hand to her light blue shirt. She wouldn't be able to leave without waking me up.

I woke up to the sound of Jen's voice saying, "Wake up Kitty Cat. We're landing soon and we have to go over what is going to happen, with Hotch."

When I opened my eyes, I could see that everyone else was already crowded around the table where Aaron and Dave were sitting. I let go of Jen's shirt and Spencer's sweater vest and stretched. There wasn't enough space for all eight of us around the tiny table, so Spencer pulled me down to sit on his lap. My one short intake of breath led to Spencer wrapping an arm around my waist to keep me calm. We got a couple of raised eyebrows from Aaron and Dave and smiles from everyone else. Spencer could still see the documents on the table, over my head, so no one made me move. Aaron gave a brief overview of the case and I know I shouldn't have, but I tuned him out after I got my 'assignment'. I was going with Derek and Spencer to the latest abduction site. The little girl was abducted the night before we left; she is the reason the team was called in. I'd been staring at the photos of the kids and their bedrooms for a while; they were all white and they all had similar features. The newest one looked like Beth. I was so distracted that I didn't even notice the little red light for seat belts had been turned on.

Emily interrupted my thoughts, "T'es correct Catherine?"

"Oui Emily, je suis correct. C'est juste un peu dûr," I answered with a slight frown.

Emily looked at my face and answered, "C'est toujours difficile avec des enfants Chérie. Viens t'assior avec moi."

"Okay," I answered and I climbed off Spencer's lap, to sit with Emily for the plane's descent.

After everyone put on coats and boots, we disembarked from the plane. As I followed Derek and Spencer to the black SUV, there was a hand on my shoulder; it made my blood run cold. The whole team knew that I didn't like being touched. I thought that maybe it was someone else, that maybe my hyper-vigilance had failed. Similar thoughts were racing through my mind as I turned around slowly. It was only Aaron and Dave standing behind me. I breathed a sigh of relief; they're usually classified as non-threats, just like the rest of the team.

"Sorry Catherine. I just need to make sure you're good to go. We're counting on you," said Aaron.

"I wont let you down sir," I promised.

My answer got me a smile. "I know you won't Catherine. We'll try to make sure no one from outside the team touches you, alright?"

My "Thank you" was barely above a whisper.

I climbed into the back of the black SUV, with Spencer. Derek sat up front with someone from the RCMP; he was wearing an odd red uniform. Thankfully he was sitting in the driver's seat and couldn't turn around to shake my hand, like he did with Derek and Spencer.

The man introduced himself as Officer Louis. He said that everyone from the team was going to the station first, which confused me for a moment. Spencer must have sensed my confusion because he signed to me that the parents wanted to talk with us first. It clicked then, the little girl who looked like Beth; her parents were visiting Quebec from New York. The dad was a foreign dignitary from Germany.

As we drove towards the highway, I crushed Spencer's offered hand in mine. I hate highways. I could see Derek looking at me in the mirror and I gave him what I hope was a reassuring smile; it probably came out closer to a grimace. Luckily for me, officer Louis was so focused on the traffic that he didn't notice my unease. I calmed down quite a bit once we had been in the car for a while and traffic thinned out. There were no trucks around which helped.

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><p>Once we arrived at the station in Pierrefonds-Roxboro, Emily and Aaron were at the front of the team, ready to greet everyone, and I just wanted to hide in the back. Thankfully, we had to meet the Sargent in charge, the one who asked for the team's help, Michel Belanger. Sargent Belanger greeted us warmly and showed us where we could set up. Penelope had the office next to our conference room for her computers.<p>

I helped Spencer put the case together on the clear glass boards. Due to the change in plans, the rest of the team had a meeting about who was going to talk to the parents and who was going to the sites of the abductions. Emily and I were going to talk to the parents of Alice Liddell because we both speak German. I was worried because I had never witnessed an interview before, but Emily was going to run it; I was just supposed to sit there, listen and learn.

We introduced ourselves to little Alice's parents. "Hallo Herr und Frau Liddell. Ich heiße Emily Prentiss und sie heiße Catherine Jareau. Wie heißen Sie? We are from the FBI and we are helping look into the disappearance of your daughter Alice."

"Ich bin Heinrich Liddell und das ist mein Frau, Trude," Herr Liddell responded to Emily's introduction. Then he immediately wanted to know what was being done to find his younger daughter. Emily calmed him down and then we started the interview with simple questions.

"What was your daughter wearing when she disappeared?" asked Emily.

"She was wearing a blue nightgown," answered Frau Liddell. "My liebling Alice was sleeping in the same room as her sister, but Abigail was not taken."

Emily shot me a look, I knew what it meant, and I needed to talk to Abigail. "Now, your daughter Alice is seven, how old is your other daughter?"

"Abby ist zwolf, I mean she is twelve." Frau Liddell was in tears, "She is in the car and won't get out. She didn't even want to leave the apartment, Heinrich had to carry her."

After that comment, I left to go find Abby and Emily continued the interview without me. As I passed Spencer in the hallway, I asked him to accompany me. I didn't, and still don't, know how to conduct a proper cognitive interview.

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><p>When Derek found me later, I had Abby curled up in my lap; she had cried herself to sleep. Spencer had left us alone, after he had the information the team needed. As I looked down at Abby on my lap, I knew why the unsub had not taken her: she was too old. All the other children who had been abducted were between the ages of seven and ten. Derek told me that it was time to leave and I had to take Abby to her parents. I woke Abby up gently and carried her into the station, when she wouldn't let Derek carry her. Emily was finished with the interview so I handed Abby off to her parents and left with Derek and Spencer.<p>

Derek drove and I sat in the front seat (it makes car rides more bearable). Spencer sat in the back. When we arrived at our destination, I understood why Frau Liddell would call it an apartment and not a hotel suite. It was huge with three bedrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, two bathrooms, a living room and an extra room that was being used as an office. They were on the ground floor with access to a snow-covered garden. It looked like the unsub got into the girls' bedroom through the sliding glass door; the lock was broken. Outside, in the garden, one of the CSI's had found a cloth soaked in what they though was chloroform.

Derek and Spencer poked around more than I did; I spent most of my time in the girls' bedroom looking at the family photographs and the bookcases. The family was nearing the end of their month long stay for Herr Liddell's business. The girls had Franklin books, Robert Munsch books, the Twilight series, all seven Harry Potter books, as well as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I had a horrifying thought and called out for Spencer.

He came running.

Derek followed at a more sedated pace.

"What is it? What's wrong?" he demanded.

"Look at the book shelf Spence, tell me which book is out of place," I said quickly.

Derek looked but he didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

Spencer tilted his head, "Alice doesn't belong."

"Do you have the crime scene photos for the other children's bedrooms?" I asked Derek.

"Sure, they're in the car," Derek answered, "but why does Alice in Wonderland not belong?"

I explained before Spencer could jump in, "Everything else is new; Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a Victorian era British Novel. It's old. Maybe I'm wrong but I think I saw the same book in the other photos."

After we looked at the other crime scene photos, Derek agreed with me. At every single abduction site, there was an identical copy of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Derek called Aaron and Dave to let them know. They called Emily and Jen. Then Derek called Penelope to see if she could track down anything about the books. Unfortunately they were just generic copies, the kind you could get any Barnes and Noble or Chapters. They were new though; they came out when the new Alice in Wonderland movie did, 2010.

When I looked over the names of the abducted children, I shivered. Alice, Regina Rose, Bianca, Catherine, Henry and Robert. I looked up at Spencer, "He is collecting the characters of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland."

Derek snorted, "Seriously?"

I shot him a dark look. "Alice, the red queen, the white queen, the Cheshire cat, the King and the White Rabbit."

Spencer gave me a hard look before saying, "A copy-cat?"

I shivered, "It has to be a copy-cat."

Derek frowned, "We should call Hotch."

The sun was setting as we drove back to the station, in silence. Spencer was quickly reading a copy of Alice in Wonderland that we had picked up from the nearest bookstore. I didn't need to reread the book; I have it memorized. Jen was waiting for us when we got back to the station; she grabbed me and held on tight.

"It's not him," she told me.

"Are you sure Jen?"

"No I'm not sure, but it can't be him."

"Don't lie. It's him."

"We don't know that Kitty Cat. It might be someone else."

"If it's not him, then who is it?"

"I don't know."

When she let me go to look me over, I could see Spencer's worried look and Derek's frown.

They both went inside to the conference room and left us in the front entrance.

Jen pursed her lips, "They only have three rooms available for us, so the girls are all bunking together. Will that be okay?"

"Two beds Jen?"

"Three," she answered with a grin. "We've got a suite."

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><p>"Are we sure this guy is a copy-cat? I read the case file; the ending was pretty gruesome," Morgan questioned Hotch.<p>

Hotch answered, "It might not be a copy-cat: the original unsub was never caught."

"Did Strauss know about any of this?" Morgan asked.

Rossi answered, "I doubt it; then again, she might have known something because she did approve Catherine joining us under the pretense of using her if we find the children, as well as her language skills, which Prentiss also has."

"She has been helpful so far. She managed to get Abigail Liddell to talk, no one else who tried could," said Prentiss.

Spencer added, "She figured out Alice in Wonderland didn't belong before I did."

Garcia asked, "What happened to her? I haven't seen the case file. I mean, I know she was abducted and I know she uses Catherine now instead of Alice. But what really happened?"

Hotch grimaced and Rossi answered Penelope's question, "From 1999-2001 Charles Dodgson abducted more than twenty young girls and boys, between the ages of seven and twelve. From the videos that he made, we know that he forced the children to perform the story Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It appears that if they did not, or could not, act the part accordingly, he killed them. Catherine is one of three children to survive. We don't exactly know what he did to them, or with them, off camera but we have a pretty good idea. Catherine and her best friend, Beth, were the second to last victims to be abducted."

Garcia started to cry.

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><p>The team was ready to give the profile to the RCMP and local cops. Hotch started, "Our unsub is a white male, Charles Dodgson and he has a partner who is between the ages of 20 and 30. He is either taking his time or he has abducted other children, whom we don't know about."<p>

Rossi continued, "He needs somewhere to hide the kids with easy access but where no one can hear them if they scream - maybe a factory or an abandoned building. This means he either has money or a job, probably both."

Reid added, "He will be above average intelligence and appear non threatening, but he still needs to be fit enough to carry dead weight around. He abducted a set of twins and it looks like he carried them out at the same time. There was only one set of footprints leading away from the house."

Prentiss continued, "He has his own vehicle. He knows the houses which means that he is probably stalking his victims."

Rossi added, "You need to be cautious when approaching them. Charles Dodgson killed about half of the children before the police found him and then killed all but three in the final stand off."

Morgan said, "The previous unsub threatened to blow himself up and had various buildings belonging to him rigged with explosives, so please be careful. We don't know if they will do the same thing again."

Jen walked in with me and finished the profile with, "He won't stop until we catch him."

After the profile was given, the team and I headed to our hotel on Highway 40. It was getting late and we had been up for close to twenty-four hours (naps not included). We were all jet-lagged. Aaron and Dave were sharing a room, as were Derek and Spencer. We said goodnight to them and trooped upstairs to our room. Penelope and Emily took the two twin beds in the second room. That left the 'master' for Jen and I. We didn't mind; the bed was huge.

After we said goodnight to Penelope and Emily, Jen and I got ready for bed. Jen told me that after our big sister died, she used to sleep in Jessie's room. I never knew Jessie; she died less than a year before I was born. Jen used to tell me stories about her and Jessie. I wish I had known her but if she had lived, I would not have been born. I was a replacement child. I've known this for years. Some of the boys in primary school used to tease me because of it. After my parents died, for the month that I was in the hospital, I used to hear the old biddies talking about how the replacement child got her parents killed. It hurt and when Jen found out, she ripped into them for making me feel bad. I was five, almost six, when Jen left for university. I missed her so much, but sometimes she would come home on weekends and she was always there for summer break. Jen started working for the bureau when I was twelve, two years before our parents died. She joined Aaron's team a year later. Jen and I fell asleep holding hands in that big comfy bed.

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><p>French:<p>

Emily: (T'es correct Catherine?) Are you okay Catherine?

Catherine: (Oui Emily, je suis correct. C'est juste un peu dûr.) Yes Emily, I'm all right. It's just a little bit difficult.

Emily: (C'est toujours difficile avec des enfants Chérie. Viens t'assior avec moi.) IT is always difficult with kids darling. Come sit with me.

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><p>German:<p>

Emily: (Hallo Herr und Frau Liddell. Ich heiße Emily Prentiss und sie heiße Catherine Jareau. Wie heißen Sie?) Hello Mr. and Mrs. Liddell. My name is Emily Prentiss and this is Catherine Jareau.

Herr Liddell: (Ich bin Heinrich Liddell und das ist mein Frau, Trude) I am Henry Liddell and this is my wife Trudy.

Frau Liddell: (leibling) darling

Herr Liddell: (Abby ist zwolf) Abby is twelve.

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><p>AN: Edited June 5th 2012.<p> 


	3. Days 2 and 3

AN: Please read and review :) All translations will be included at the bottom of the page.

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds nor do I own Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

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><p>Day 2:<p>

The next day, I interviewed the other siblings of the abducted children, while the rest of the team, minus Emily, did leg work. Emily stayed with me to supervise the 'interviews'. Most of the information was the same as what I had gotten from Abigail. They heard the man, but didn't see him. Some children slept right through the abductions because they were in different rooms, but Oscar Peterson, Regina's brother, said that his sister already had a copy of Alice in Wonderland. And the very tall, scruffy man who took his little sister was talking to himself. It was something about "off with her head" and there was someone else outside. He called the man who took his sister Louis.

Once the rest of the team heard that, the hunt was really on. They had dismissed the idea of a partner early on because there was only one set of footprints. We thought that maybe his partner didn't always go up to the houses, maybe he or she waited in the vehicle. Unfortunately not much progress was made until the following day. Penelope was still looking through the camera footage for the get-away vehicle.

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><p>Day 3:<p>

The following day Emily, Spencer and I were teamed up. We were supposed to be looking at a few buildings that the cops had flagged as suspicious and possibly belonging to the unsub. Jen, Dave, Derek and Aaron were looking at two other buildings. Penelope had her computers running through the night, looking for anyone with a name similar to Louis just like the pen name of the author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. She was also looking for any variations of the name Charles Dodgson. There were only five Louis Carroll's in the province. One lived way up north, near Hudson's Bay, another didn't own any property and he was too old. That left three men who fit the description given by Oscar.

The building we were in front of was an old abandoned canning factory, with large, broken glass windows on the ground floor. It reminded me of a building near where Jen and I grew up in Valencia near North Mammon. I pulled Spencer and Emily behind a rather large snow bank to talk. When we were watching the building from behind the snow bank, standing close to Spencer I said, "Something doesn't feel right."

Spencer's brow furrowed and Emily frowned. While Emily and Spencer were discussing what might be wrong and how to proceed, I snuck away to get closer to the building.

I knew that I shouldn't but I was curious and a little worried about my family, so I looked though the window. I saw something; it was huge and had a timer with red numbers counting down the seconds. I panicked. "There's a bomb!" I yelled and ran back behind the snow bank and pulled Spencer down with me. I was just quick enough to shield the two of us from the blast, but unfortunately I didn't grab Emily and she didn't duck quickly enough. She fell backwards and hit her head on the snow-covered ground behind us.

Spencer called for an ambulance and I sat on the ground next to her while we waited. Emily was lucky; she didn't have a concussion, just a nasty bump on the head. I went to see her when we were ready to leave the hospital. She was standing in front of her bed, putting on her coat. I reached out my hand to touch Emily and she half turned away with a slight frown on her face. I snatched back my hand and felt a lance of pain through my heart because I had hurt her unintentionally. I wanted to cry. My pain must have shown on my face because Emily turned back towards me. I blurted out, "Emmy, ne sois pas faché contre moi, s'il te plaît, pardonne-moi."

She smiled at me, accepting my apology, "I'm not angry Creirwy (kree-ree), just tired and really sore," she wrapped her arms around me and I felt better.

Spencer drove us back to the hotel in silence because Emily had a headache. There was a package waiting for me at the front desk. Spence wanted to know who would be sending me a package. I thought it was weird, but probably nothing important so I brought it up to our suite and set it down just inside the door. Penelope and Jen were waiting for us on the couches in our room. As soon as we got in the room, they both jumped up and hugged Emily, and when they let her go, I was hugged as well. We curled up on the couches and Jen filled us in on what had happened with the rest of the team while Spencer and I were in the hospital with Emily. The search of the other buildings was a bust. They were all abandoned but none of the others had bombs. Penelope went to check on the computers she had set up in her room, then she said goodnight and went to sleep. Emily stayed up with us for a few more minutes before she too bid us goodnight and went to bed.

Jen got the package for me and we settled down to open it; I love getting presents. Inside was a copy of Alice in Wonderland, a child's tiny blue dress and a white rose painted red. I ran to the bathroom to throw up. Surprisingly, I managed to hold off the rest of my panic attack until I made it back to the 'master' bedroom. Jen had followed me into the bedroom. I crawled under the desk and curled up into a ball. The only thing I could think was: It's him. It's him. It's him. I must have been talking aloud because Jen answered me, "We don't know that for sure." I remember wanting to glare at her because that wasn't what I needed to hear. I shuddered and she tried a different tactic, "Creirwy (kree-ree) do you want me to go get Spence?" Emily, who by all rights should have been asleep, sat down on the floor next to Jen reached out and put her hand on my head. I shrieked. My smart sister knew better than to touch me during a panic attack but poor obviously Emily wasn't thinking straight.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I kept saying it over and over again.

I am one hundred percent sure I scared Emily, but I also know that she wanted to help. The only thing I can remember her saying was something about going to get Spencer. I learned later that Emily woke Penelope and they took the package to the rest of the team. I don't know how long that took, but when Spencer arrived he sat down next to Jen and they started playing Gin and not talking about anything important. It was strangely calming; they were far enough away for me to not feel threatened and they were not talking about the case or anything to do with books.

Eventually I calmed myself down enough to lift my head from my knees. Jen and

Spencer were sitting on the floor next to the bed, about 6 feet from where I was hiding under the desk. When my panicked breathing slowed down enough, I peeked around the corner of the desk to see through the doorway. Emily and Penelope were sitting on the couches, drinking coffee with Aaron and Dave. Derek was pacing back and forth from the door to the couches. I blushed, embarrassed and curled in on myself even more. Jen and Spencer noticed my moving but didn't draw the others attention to it. Spencer rose and went into the sitting room, while Jen looked at me, asking without words if it was okay for her to come closer. I half nodded so she sat down near me, leaning on the desk. When she offered her hand I held on tightly.

A short while later, my breathing was under control and I was half asleep leaning against the inside of the desk. Jen kissed my forehead, let go of my hand and went to the door.

"Spence," she called out quietly. He turned around and nodded his head in the direction of the bedroom. Jen nodded once and he rose from the chair and walked towards her. Between the two of them, they managed to get me out from under the desk and into bed, but I wouldn't let go of either of them. When Jen tried to pry my fingers off Spencer's sweater, I started panicking. Reasoning with me didn't work, neither did Emmy's singing, so they gave up and climbed into bed on either side of me. In retrospect, I suppose that it was a little awkward for them. At the time I didn't care because I felt safe. The last thing I remember before falling asleep was Derek and Emily looking in on us. I found out the next morning that Penelope took a picture of the three of us sleeping.

* * *

><p>French:<p>

Catherine: (Emily, ne sois pas faché contre moi, s'il te plaît, pardonne-moi) Emily, I'm sorry, please don't be angry with me.

* * *

><p>AN2: Edited as of June 5th, 2012.<p> 


	4. Day 4

AN: Please read and review :) All translations will be included at the bottom of the page.

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

* * *

><p>Day 4:<p>

I had a few nightmares but with Spencer and Jen there, it didn't turn into a fully-fledged panic attack. I woke up in the morning embarrassed, so I climbed out of bed and went to make tea and coffee. While I was pouring myself a cup, Emily came out of her room. I blushed and couldn't look her in the face. When she got closer and didn't say anything I apologized with a whisper, "Es tut mir Leid Emmy." I took a quick peek at her face to see what her reaction was.

She smiled at me, extended her arms and said, "Es gibt nichts, um Ihnen dafür zu verzeihen."

I put down my coffee, took a deep breath and launched myself at her; she caught me in a hug. I'm still sorry," I whispered.

"I know," she said, "but you don't need to be Creirwy (kree-ree). I shouldn't have touched you without you being able to see me, I know better. So I am sorry."

"'S not your fault," I mumbled into her shoulder.

She made me raise my head and look her in the eyes, "It is not your fault either Creirwy (kree-ree)." Then she smiled and with a teasing voice, "We should have bagels for breakfast before Morgan and Reid get up and eat them all."

Spencer was leaning against the doorframe, in rumpled clothes, watching us and said, "Hey, I heard that and I only eat half as many bagels as Morgan."

The three of us laughed quietly, trying not to wake Penelope or Jen. We ate breakfast together on the couches, waiting for everyone else to get up. After I finished breakfast, I curled up in between Spencer and Emmy, and had a short nap.

Aaron, Dave and Derek showed up at eight. They were dressed and had already eaten breakfast. Jen and Penelope were getting ready for the day.

"Prentiss how is your head?" Aaron asked.

"Better sir," she replied, standing up and moving away from the couch.

Aaron, Dave and Derek all said "Good" at the same time. I would have laughed if I had not been playing possum. Derek tried to hand Spencer some clean clothes but I was occupying his arms and lap. When Jen sat down Spencer transferred me to her lap so he could get ready. I was embarrassed but not enough to stop pretending to be asleep. You can learn a lot about people when they think you're not awake.

It ended up being less awkward for me to pretend to be asleep because the team started talking about the package that I had received. Obviously the unsub knew we were here and Penelope was already going through video footage to see who dropped off the package. It was addressed to A. C. Jareau. There were no fingerprints on the box, but there was a partial on the book. Penelope ran it and found a match, Charles Dodgson. I started shaking. Jen's arms around me tightened. She asked me if I wanted to leave the room; I shook my head. Leaving meant that I would be by myself. Everyone was already sitting down and looking at the case files again.

Penelope frowned at her computer screen, got the team's attention and turned on the television. The media had gotten wind of the package. They didn't know what was in it, but were reporting that the kidnapper had contacted the FBI and was taunting them. Furthermore, they said we were looking for a Louis Carroll. Aaron assumed that there must be a leak and went off to call Sargent Belanger about it.

When Sargent Belanger called my phone the morning after my package and panic attack, he asked me to meet him at the site where the bomb went off later in the afternoon, because he had something to ask me. I didn't think anything of it because team members were always being pulled aside by RCMP and police officers. Besides, Aaron had already spoken with him this morning. That should have been my second clue that something was wrong.

Jen frowned when I said that I needed to borrow the SUV. "Are you sure?" she asked me.

"Yes, Sargent Belanger called. He has a few questions for me."

"Pink coat?" she questioned.

"Pink coat," I confirmed.

Jen hugged me tightly before I got into the car and drove away. I took as many residential streets as possible to reach the factory. At one of the traffic lights, I even waved at the camera, for Penelope, who I was sure was supposed to be following my progress.

* * *

><p>When I arrived at the factory, I noticed there was only one camera. Sargent Belanger was frowning at me. I got out of the car but left the key in the ignition. When Belanger got close enough to me, he pulled a gun. I noticed there was a silver silencer attached to the end.<p>

He motioned me toward the SUV so I opened the door and climbed into the driver's seat, turned the key in the ignition to start the SUV and held my breath.

He climbed into the front passenger's seat and said, "You are the leak. Give me a reason why I should not pull the trigger right now."

Pleadingly I said, "I didn't do it, I swear."

He glared at me, "If you're not a leak then how do you now so much about the case? How do you know what the unsub is going to do and what he has done?"

"I know because he took me when I was seven. The original unsub I mean."

"I don't believe you," he said.

I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time, instead I responded with, "Charles Dodgson, 1997, look it up, Google it; it's not that difficult."

Still pointing the gun in my direction, he turned to the built in computer on the dash and looked up the case on Google. When he was finished reading, he glared at me, "You're not in here."

Putting up some false bravado, I scoffed, "Of course I'm not. Do you think the names of the three minors, who survived, would actually be reported in the news?"

He frowned and turned back to the computer to try and find the case file in the database.

"It wont be in there," I said. "I can call the team's technical analyst; she can get you the file.

We're in Canada, not the US, you won't have access to any classified documents without her."

He glowered at me, "Alright, but put your phone on speaker and no funny business."

"Yes sir," I said and hit speed dial.

Penelope answered the phone with, "Speak and be heard."

"Hi Penelope; I was wondering if you would please pull up the Charles Dodgson file for me in the SVU, I mean SUV. Sargent Belanger would like to review it with me."

"Not a problem cupcake. Why-"

I cut her off, "Penelope, can you please tell Jen that I forgot my pink coat in the bedroom? I really would like to wear it. I'm getting rather chilly without it."

"Sure kiddo. I will talk with you later."

He glowered at me, "What was that last part about? I said no funny business."

I tried to placate him, "I really do just want my coat. As you can see, I've only got my sweater."

He backhanded me. I could taste the blood in my mouth from my split lip. I could feel a panic attack rising steadily. He turned back to the computer and opened up the file Penelope sent. While he was reading, I weighed my options: there weren't many. I could have sat there and hoped that he would let me go, I could have hoped backup would show up quickly or I could have crashed the SUV and hoped that he was injured badly enough that I could take the gun and escape. At the time, I really wished that I had one of those cool earphone pieces that would connect me to the team. I had used the distress word with Penelope, and I hoped that Jen would get the message quickly and someone would come find me.

When Belanger was finished reading the file, he looked at me and apologized for thinking I was the leak. I gave a sigh of relief; I had passed his stupid test. I flinched when he put his hand on my shoulder and I didn't let him touch my face to check where he had hit me.

He apologized again for hitting me. We started driving back to the police station together. While we were driving through the industrial park area near Henri-Bourassa, Sargent Belanger noticed an RCMP officer flagging us down. He suggested we pull over to help, so I did. The officer looked familiar. It was Officer Louis, our driver from the first day.

Officer Louis came over to the car window waving with a smile on his face. When Sargent Belanger rolled down the window, Officer Louis pulled out a gun and shot him in the chest twice. There was blood everywhere. I screamed.

He growled, "Shut up and get out of the car."

I complied out of fear; at the time I did not know why he had not shot me as well. For a split second I considered running, but there was nowhere to go. So I did the only thing I could think of: I slipped my phone into my left boot.

Louis had the gun trained on me; he said, "Walk around the SUV and come towards me slowly. Keep your hands where I can see them."

While I was walking around the front of the SUV, Louis wrote 'Alice has gone home' on the windshield in Belanger's blood. I shuddered at the message and climbed into the driver's seat of his vehicle. Louis climbed into the passenger seat, kept the gun pointed at me and told me to start driving. We headed west on Highway 40, and I had to pay so much attention to the crazy drivers around me I didn't have time to panic about the gun or the crazy man sitting next to me. We drove past our hotel and we were passing the Kirkland Coliseum, when he told me to pull off the highway and take the side street. When we pulled into the parking lot of the Morgan Arboretum, I started to get even more worried. There is a lot of forest that is not covered by the trails; I was extra worried because if we were to go off the path, it would be very difficult for the team to find me. It took us about an hour trudging through the snow, on a cross-country skiing trail, to reach our destination. It was a small cabin with a thatched roof, something that would not look out of place in a Little Red Riding Hood movie.

I was physically and mentally exhausted by the time we got to the cabin. Inside was Charles Dodgson, sitting on a couch in the living room. "Hello Alice," he greeted me. I felt like I couldn't breathe. He frowned, narrowed his eyes at me and said again, "Hello Alice."

The ingrained response came without thinking. "Sir," I responded demurely.

He smiled. "That was much better Alice."

I shuddered involuntarily; my eyes took in every detail of the rooms. There were only two rooms, a kitchen and the living room. There were also two windows facing the front and two doors on the main floor, along with a staircase leading to the second floor. I knew that the door under the stairs would lead to a cellar of some sort. I hate cellars. Louis and Dodgson had a whispered conversation. I was too far away to hear, but I knew that they were trying to decide what to do with me. I subtly stepped towards the door but I froze the instant their eyes flickered back to me.

Dodgson's smile grew, "She's still a tricky little thing." He turned to Louis and said, "Take her upstairs and find her something better to wear."

Louis handed the gun to Dodgson and strode across the room. He grabbed my arm roughly and dragged me up the stairs, not that I was resisting; that would have been stupid. He pushed me into a bedroom. Louis went over to a dresser, opened a drawer, and handed me a blue short-sleeved nightgown. He told me to put it on. I asked him to please turn around; he rolled his eyes but capitulated. It is not like I could have escaped; he was standing in the doorway. I knew I needed to hide my phone but I had no idea where to put it. I asked if I could keep my boots because it was cold but Louis said no. He had a pair of black slippers for me. I swallowed my fear and under the pretense of putting on the slippers, next to the bed, I stuffed my phone under the corner of the mattress. I hoped my battery would last.

Louis dragged me back down the stairs and over to the cellar door. When I started to struggle, Dodgson came over and punched me in the stomach. I doubled over. He laughed and pulled me upright, kissed me on the mouth, and shoved me towards Louis. I wanted to scream and cry, but mostly I just wanted to be anywhere but there. Louis forced me through the doorway and closed the door. I let out a choked sob as the lock clicked into place behind me. I hesitantly walked down the cellar stairs towards the only light I could see. When I got to the bottom of the stairs, I turned left and found myself facing six scared little faces. I sighed in relief; if the team found me, they would find all of us.

* * *

><p>Garcia was busy and she didn't get a chance to give JJ Catherine's message for almost ninety minutes. JJ flew into a panic when she heard the message and then couldn't reach Catherine on her phone. The rest of the team didn't understand what was wrong. JJ had Garcia play back the recording of the call. Hotch was confused and was the first to talk; he wanted to know why Catherine was asking for a pink coat. JJ explained that it was their distress code word. Rossi wanted to know why JJ and Catherine didn't use the same word as the rest of the team. Garcia asked if Catherine even owned a pink coat. JJ explained that while Catherine doesn't own a pink coat right now, she had left her pink raincoat behind when she was abducted the first time. Prentiss was scowling thoughtfully and not asking any questions. Morgan wanted to know why Catherine had said SVU. JJ didn't have an answer.<p>

Surprisingly, Reid took the longest to process what was going on, but he caught up quickly and had the answer to Morgan's question: "It's a clue. She's telling us who took her. Someone from the Quebec equivalent to the Special Victims Unit we have at home."

JJ told the rest of the team that Catherine had gone to meet Sargent Belanger at the bombsite.

Hotch frowned, "He didn't clear that with me. Garcia, check the GPS in the SUV please."

Garcia answered, "The SUV is stopped just off Henri-Bourassa on Douglas B. Floriani."

The whole team, minus Garcia drove to where the SUV was parked. They found Sargent Belanger dead, his weapon holstered and Catherine's boot prints leading away from the SUV towards another set of tire tracks.

Morgan said, "I know Catherine didn't do this, but it does look suspicious."

Rossi said into the phone, "Garcia, check the GPS on Catherine's cell phone."

Morgan countered with, "If someone else snatched her, he wouldn't really be that stupid, would he? He must have tossed the phone when he snatched her and shot the Sargent."

Garcia was already typing quickly.

"Well do you have any better ideas?" Rossi asked.

"No," said Morgan.

"I have an idea," Reid said.

"The phone is on!" said an excited Garcia, cutting Reid off. "Damn, I can't get a lock on it. But I can tell you where she was before we lost the signal. East bound on highway 40, just past the Kirkland Coliseum."

"I have an idea," Reid repeated.

"Okay Reid, what is your idea?" said Hotch.

"Why don't we just ask JJ? There must be something that isn't in the case file that Catherine has told her."

"JJ is that true?" asked Prentiss quietly.

"She wouldn't talk about it for years," JJ answered.

"But she did talk eventually, right?" added Hotch.

JJ frowned, "Where Dodgson kept them, it isn't in the file-"

Morgan cut her off, "Yes it was. We know he kept the kids in an abandoned factory, that's why we have been looking at factories."

JJ glared at Morgan, "I'm talking about where he kept them before he killed most of the children."

Morgan raised his hands in surrender, "Okay, I'm sorry."

JJ continued, "He kept them in a cabin somewhere, in a forest."

"Baby girl did you get that?" asked Morgan.

"Already on it; looking up all the forested areas on the island," Garcia said.

"Good," answered Morgan.

"What kind of cabin? What kind of forest?" asked Emily.

"I don't know about the kind of trees," JJ frowned, "but the cabin had two stories and a cellar."

Reid's sharp intake of breath drew the attention of his other team members. "Is that why?" he questioned JJ.

"Yes," she answered with a sad look on her face.

"Is what why?" asked an annoyed Hotch.

"Catherine won't go into cabins or basements of any kind," said JJ.

"When we went biking she wouldn't even go inside to use the washroom," Morgan said.

"And she wouldn't go to that theater with us for-" added Prentiss.

"Yes," JJ cut her off.

"Do we know if that is Catherine's blood on the windshield?" asked Rossi.

"I don't think it is," said Reid. "There are bloody fingerprints on Belanger's coat."

"Garcia, we are sending you a photo of the prints; can you run them please?" asked Rossi.

"I'll call you back when I get a hit. Ciao," she said as she hung up. Not even five minutes later

Garcia called the team back.

Morgan said, "You're on speaker again, baby girl."

"Duly noted and you're not going to believe this: the prints belong to an Officer Louis."

"Isn't that the name of our driver from the RCMP that first day?" asked Reid.

"You've got that right," said Garcia.

"That's not good. He got close to Catherine and we didn't even know it," said Prentiss, concern colouring her voice.

Garcia added, "That's not good but is an understatement. This sicko is Dodgson's nephew.

He's got various reprimands for excessive violence in his file."

"Why wasn't this caught sooner?" asked Hotch angrily.

"Dodgson's sister changed her name and moved to Canada. Then she took her husband's name," said Garcia. "Also, there are four forests close by, but only one is still on island and past the Kirkland Coliseum. It's supposed to be closed though; there was an accident a few days ago."

"Are we even sure that they stayed on the island?" asked Prentiss.

"We should have teams looking at the other forests as well," said Rossi.

"We are talking about 2,275 acres of forest here. That is a lot of trees," said Garcia.

"We're going back to the station to gear up," said Hotch. "Garcia notify the RCMP, have them start making teams to search the other forests."

She said, "Yes sir," and hung up.

The search teams started with the closest forest, the Bois-de-Liesse. No one had seen anything. It was the same with the Cap-Saint-Jacques Park and the Bois-de-l'île Bizard. It took the rest of the day to search the three forests; finally it was only the Morgan Arboretum that had not been searched. The team was still waiting on permission from the higher ups to enter the park. It got dark around five and JJ was getting antsy. They still didn't have permission to enter the park and she was very worried about her little sister. Morgan and Reid were all for disregarding procedure to go search, but Hotch held them back with the reason of not causing an international incident. None of the team was happy.

Meanwhile, Garcia had been looking at the camera footage. She had spotted Catherine and Officer Louis driving away in an unmarked police car. She called Hotch to tell him. He called Strauss to see if she could put pressure on someone so they could have permission. She called around but told him that the team would have to wait for daylight to start searching. It was already after nine.

* * *

><p>German:<p>

Catherine: (Es tut mir Leid Emmy) I am sorry Emmy.

Emily: (Es gibt nichts, um Ihnen dafür zu verzeihen) It is okay, there is nothing to be sorry for.

* * *

><p>AN2: edited on June 5th, 2012.<p> 


	5. Day 5

AN: Please read and review :) All translations will be provided in English at the end of the page.

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds nor do I own Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

* * *

><p>Day 5:<p>

The entire team went back to the hotel suite planning to leave at first light. They took turns sleeping for a few hours because they were all so tense. JJ and Prentiss barely slept at all. The team was ready to leave, and the cars packed with everything they would need by six thirty, before the sun was up. It was still dark when they arrived at the station at six forty-five. They prepped with the other teams and were on the way by seven. All of the search and rescue teams were parking their cars by seven thirty, first light. Garcia was using a tech van to try and locate Catherine and her abductors. She had tasked a satellite over the area looking for thermal images.

JJ whispered to Reid, "Spence, they've had her for almost twenty hours. What if something has happened? What if we're too late to save her?"

Reid hugged JJ. "We won't be too late," he promised.

* * *

><p>The cellar was cold and the children were scared. There were two twin beds pushed together in one corner of the cellar. It was where all six children had been sleeping. I introduced myself but they were all too scared to talk to me. A few hours later, when we heard the door unlock and footsteps on the stairs, they hid under the bed, behind boxes, in the cupboard, under the stairs. Little Alice hid behind my legs; it was heart breaking to watch.<p>

Louis came downstairs with some sandwiches for everyone to eat. He set them on the bed and tried to grab Alice. I stepped in his way; he slapped me but I didn't move away from Alice. He started swearing at me in French and reached for his gun. I still didn't move. He hit me in the head with the butt, and I crumpled to the floor. Everything is hazy after that. I know that Dodgson came downstairs and between the two of them they carried my struggling self upstairs. The important thing was that they left the children alone. I knew Jen and the team would try their hardest to find me.

When they hadn't shown up a few hours later, I had a few doubts: maybe my phone wasn't working, and maybe Dodgson or Louis had found my phone and destroyed it. I was dumped on the bed downstairs sometime during the night. The kids must have been sleeping before Louis carried me down because the bed was warm. They had scattered around the cellar in an attempt to be looked over. It didn't matter though; Dodgson and Louis were already sated. I could feel the whip marks on my back bleeding sluggishly.

After Louis had gone upstairs and locked the cellar door, the children came out of hiding. Little Alice climbed up on the bed next to me and the others followed her example, after pulling the blankets out from under me. Catherine, Regina Rose, Bianca, Robert and Henry slept in a pile on my left, while Alice was on my right, curled into a tiny ball with her head on my arm. I was glad that the children slept because I needed some alone time to cry in peace. I desperately wanted to shower and clean the wounds on my back. I ended up crying, not for myself but for the kids.

When the kids woke up, it must have been morning because there was a small amount of light coming in through a small window. They started asking me lots of questions. They wanted to know about their parents and siblings. I told them everything that I could remember and then they wanted to know about my family. I smiled and said that my family was out there right now, looking for us. Ten-year-old Henry snorted in disbelief but the other children wanted to know how I knew. I told them it was because my family was already looking for all of them and I knew that they would never stop. Henry wanted to know why they hadn't found us already. The only thing I could think to say was, "These things take time," and that was not a good enough answer.

Alice wanted to know why the two of us were dressed the same; she also had a blue nightgown. Bianca's was white, Regina Rose's nightgown was red and Catherine's was pink and purple. Henry was wearing red pajamas and Robert had white ones. I told her it was because we had the same first name, Alice.

Catherine frowned at me and said, "You said your name was Catherine."

"It is," I replied. "My name is Alice Catherine."

"Oh," was the collective reply.

"That makes sense," said Bianca.

Regina Rose said, "I think you should have a pink, purple and blue nightgown if you have two names."

"Yeah!" exclaimed Catherine.

Robert handed me a sandwich and said, "We saved one for you."

I thanked the kids and tore into the sandwich; it had been a long time since I had eaten. We heard the door unlock and the kids scattered. Alice sent me a sad look as she too went to hide.

Louis told me to get my ass upstairs. It was slow going but I managed to make it halfway up the stairs before I faltered. Louis grabbed me from behind and I sneaked a glace at his watch, 7:33 a.m. I hoped that my family would hurry up; I didn't know how much more I could take.

When Dodgson and Louis were finished playing with me and beating me, they dropped me on the bed in the cellar again. My nightgown was soaked in blood. I looked at Louis' watch again; it was just after nine. They had me upstairs for less than two hours, but it felt like forever.

* * *

><p>The team stormed the building and had Dodgson and Louis in their crosshairs before the men could go for a gun. Seeing so many weapons trained on them made Dodgson and Louis give up quickly.<p>

After they had tossed their weapons aside, JJ strode up to Dodgson and said, "Where is she you bastard." Dodgson laughed and JJ punched him in the face.

Reid went to pull JJ off Dodgson but Prentiss stopped him, "Give her a minute."

Dodgson just smiled through the blood and said, "Thank you for bringing my Alice back to me."

JJ growled and went to hit him again but Hotch said, "That's enough JJ." When JJ moved away, Hotch cuffed Dodgson.

Rossi had already cuffed Louis and after seeing what had happened to his uncle, he was willing to cooperate. "The stupid little brats are in the basement."

I know that Aaron and Dave stayed outside after arresting Dodgson and Louis. I heard Jen as she unlocked the cellar door and flew down the stairs. She hugged me tightly and I must have made a noise because she let me go and really looked at me. I turned my face away because I was embarrassed and couldn't bear to face her. I ended up looking at her arms, more specifically her watch; it read almost 9:20. I wondered what would have happened to Dodgson and Louis if the team had arrived just a half hour earlier.

When we were ready to leave, Emily picked up Regina Rose, Spencer picked up Robert and they carried them up the stairs and outside. Henry, Catherine and Bianca followed them. Jen looked like she wanted to try and carry me but it just wasn't feasible. So Alice climbed onto Jen's back. They waited while Derek wrapped me in his jacket and gently lifted me off the bed. We followed Jen and Alice upstairs. I smiled when I noticed the black SUVs parked in front of the cottage.

Penelope told me later that while locating us in the park, even with the thermal imaging satellite, was difficult; driving through the ski path with winter tires was easy. It took her forty-five minutes to find us with the satellite and then it took the search and rescue teams fifteen minutes of arguing about how to proceed. It only took the team twenty minutes to get to the cottage by SUV; they had to park out of sight and walk up to the cottage stealthily. The ambulances followed the SUVs and waited while the teams got into position to storm the cottage. They drove up after Dodgson and Louis were arrested.

The children were all being loaded up into ambulances to be checked over by doctors at the nearest hospital. The rest of the team was far from idle but only Aaron and Dave went to the hospital with the kids. I started shaking when I heard Dave remind one of the officers to make sure they found all of videos. And I balked at the idea of getting into the ambulance to go to the hospital. I started struggling in Derek's arms; I was adamant that I not go to the hospital and Derek couldn't calm me down. He sat me in the middle of a police van and closed the door, giving me some privacy for my imminent panic attack. Jen came over with a big orange blanket from the ambulances and wrapped me in it, and then she sat next to me but didn't touch me.

She said quietly, "Kitty cat you know that we need to take you to the hospital."

"No!" I said. "No, no, no, no, no," I couldn't stop. Jen put her hand on my head and I shuddered, I felt like my skin was crawling.

"It's going to be okay," she said. "We found you. We'll get to go home soon."

Home sounded really nice. Jen gathered me in her arms and would not let me go, no matter how hard I struggled. I started crying and she ran her fingers through my hair. I just wanted to go home.

The rest of the team and I borrowed the police van. Jen and I sat in the very back; I couldn't deal with anyone being behind me. Derek drove and Penelope sat up front with him. That left the middle seat for Spencer and Emily. We did end up going to the hospital; Jen stayed with me and held my hand through my examination. The rest of my family waited in the hall. I know that they postponed the debriefing because none of them could concentrate.

I stayed in the hospital for most of the day but managed to convince the doctors that I should go back to the hotel to rest. Before we went back to the hotel, the team took me to visit the kids. They were happy to see me and I was glad that they were going to be okay. I received cards from them for Christmas and my birthday.

I stood still while Aaron and Dave hugged me goodnight and told me that they were glad I was okay. I was too tired to protest when Derek carried me to my room to say goodnight. Spencer looked lost, but he kissed my forehead without touching the rest of me and offered to sleep on the couch. Emily sent him away, telling him that we were going to have a girls' night and that if we needed him, someone would go find him. Derek called from halfway down the hall, "Let's go kid." Spencer followed him with one last long look back at us.

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><p>When we finally got into the suite, I raced for the shower. I had showered at the hospital but it wasn't the same without my own soap and shampoo. I was in the shower for a long time. When I got out, Jen had to help me re-bandage my back and ribs. It was nerve wracking to have someone standing behind me. After I put on my pajamas, I left the bathroom and was surprised to see Emily, Penelope and Jen setting out plates with pizza on them, in the living room. I moved across the room, intending to sit down by myself but Penelope reached me first. She hugged me gently and pulled me down next to her on the couch. I started to panic when Emily sat down on my other side but she didn't move until after Penelope let go of me.<p>

She lifted my chin with her finger and said, "Chérie, tu sais qu'on t'aime? What happened won't change the way we look at you."

"Mais Emily, ça change tout," I turned my head away from her so I didn't see her reach out for me. Penelope gave me a small nudge and nodded towards Emily. I turned back to Emily and let myself be hugged.

Penelope added, "I agree with Emily; we all adore you, so it doesn't change anything. It could have easily been one of us, if we had gone to meet with Sargent Belanger."

When I looked at my sister, she was smiling at me. I wanted to disagree with them but I didn't have the energy. We did have a girls' night, but not anything resembling what my sister does when she goes out with Emily and Penelope. The four of us lay on the bed, watching movies and eating pizza. It was nice to relax a bit.

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><p>French:<p>

Emily: (Chérie, tu sais qu'on t'aime?) Darling, you know that we love you.

Catherine: (Mais Emily, ça change tout) It changes everything Emily.

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><p>AN2: Edited on 5th of June 2012.<p> 


	6. Day 6 and Epilogue

AN: Please read and review.

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds nor do I own Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

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><p>Day 6:<p>

I woke up with a gasp; my body tense and ready to flee. For a moment, I was back in that cabin in the woods and I felt like I couldn't breathe. The soft snoring coming from Penelope and Emily, and Jen's hand wrapped around mine, calmed me down a little bit. But being surrounded with people was not what I needed. I needed space. Space to think, space to be by myself, space to calm myself down properly. I slowly climbed out of bed, it was difficult to do without waking anyone else up; a king sized bed is so not meant to fit four adults.

Once I reached the bathroom, I shut the door, locked it and slid down said door to sit on the floor. When I was calmer, I got up and looked at myself in the mirror. The swelling had gone down from last night but bruising on the left side of my face was still a spectacular mix of blues and purples. I debated taking another shower and eventually gave into my incessant need to be clean. Emily and Penelope were gone from the bedroom when I finally emerged from the steamy bathroom, wearing a hotel bathrobe. Jen was waiting for me, sitting on the bed. Our go bags were packed and sitting on the desk. I took a quick peek at the doors and noticed they were closed with the curtains drawn. I swallowed and took a quick step sideways, away from my sister towards the doors. I couldn't even look at her.

Jen moved towards me as one would approach a wounded or scared animal, hands open and in view. Unfortunately I wasn't really paying attention to her; my eyes were glued on a spot on the carpet, halfway between the door and myself trying to regulate my breathing. I so did not want to have the imminent conversation. Jen's hand on my shoulder made me flinch and my stomach roll, but I clenched my jaw shut and willed myself not to throw up, not that there was anything left in my stomach. Jen removed her hand after I flinched and waited, not saying anything until I looked at her. She looked so sad. I was upset with myself for causing her pain. I flinched again, as Jen walked past me into the bathroom. I turned halfway so that she would still be in view, her shoulders were hunched and I heard her let out an almost inaudible sigh.

Jen pulled out the medical kit from the top shelf in the bathroom where she had placed it last night. Way too high up for me to reach. She started taking out supplies, cream, gauze, tape and a wrap for my ribs. She looked pointedly at me and then at the chair still sitting next to the vanity. I frowned and she raised one eyebrow at me. I grimaced then sighed and shuffled my way over to the chair. I sat backwards on it, with my arms across the backrest, concentrating on keeping my breathing slow and steady. I wanted nothing more than to run out of the room and hide. Jen waited patiently while I got up and repositioned the chair so that I could see her in the mirror. I loosened the robe so that she could reach my back easily.

My big sister is used to patching me up, and in no time at all, she'd covered my back in the prescription cream from the doctor; the gauze then covered the wounds and the tape kept everything in place. Next Jen wrapped my ribs up tightly, making sure that the ribs, which had been dislocated and replaced, were not likely to come out again. I thought that I could escape when she was finished with my ribs, pulled up the robe and took a step towards the door.

"Catherine," came my sister's voice, the warning in it clear. "Come back here."

I sighed and mumbled, "Yes mom."

I know that she rolled her eyes because Jen hates it when I call her mom, I just can't help it when she uses her mom voice.

Jen handed me some clean clothes, a button up purple t-shirt and a pair of black jeans. She picked up all the medical supplies and looked pointedly at me, "Get dressed and then come back to the bedroom, and I'll clean up your arms."

I nodded at her but didn't reply. I should have known better than to think my sister wouldn't have noticed all the scratch marks. After all, she was at the hospital with me.

When Jen was finished bandaging my arms, she helped me put on my sweater. Then we had bagels and tea and coffee with the rest of the team in the living room. It was crowded and took most of my concentration to not panic. When everyone was ready to leave, Jen helped me put on my coat, but I refused the offer of help putting on my boots with a glare. She laughed at me.

Emily carried my go bag for me and I thanked her with a smile. I still hadn't spoken to the rest of my family; I just couldn't find the words. We took two SUV's back to the jet, Dave, Aaron, Morgan and Penelope in one and Spencer, Emily, Jen and myself in the other.

Emily whispered to me, as we were getting into the SUV, that Aaron had refused the assistance of two officers who had wanted to drive us to the airport. I breathed a quiet sigh of relief. No one I didn't know would be anywhere near me. It was a nice calming thought to get me through a not so calm car ride. Emily drove, Spencer sat shotgun and Jen sat in the back with me. I wanted to sit with both Spencer and Jen but I couldn't get the words out of my mouth.

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><p>On the plane ride back home, I curled up on the couch with my face glued to the window again. Spencer sat down next to me and I immediately froze. I was so embarrassed once I realized that on some level I was scared of him. I ducked my head.<p>

"It's okay Kitty Cat, I can move," he said and started to rise.

I grabbed his hand and said, "Spence, please don't go."

He sat down and gave me a big smile. Jen came to sit down with us and I fell asleep curled up between the two of them.

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><p>Epilogue:<p>

It turned out that Strauss did know something and Aaron ripped her a new one for using me as bait. In the end, I didn't need to say anything for the new file because everything had been video taped. I don't want to go to work with my family anymore, but it's okay because I know that Charles Dodgson will never again pursue me. He was extradited to Virginia and received the needle yesterday. I didn't go to watch. The team and I stayed home and watched movies.

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><p>"Tut, tut, child!" said the Duchess. "Everything's got a moral, if only you can find it."<p>

- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter 9

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><p>AN2: Thank you for reading :)<p>

AN3: Edited on June 5th, 2012.


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